Harbour Point on Lake Lanier features a world-class 8,000-square-foot Yacht Club for informal events, neighborhood gatherings or private parties.

THE QUIET STILL OF MORNING echoes across the lake as it reflects rustic pine groves in its mirror surface. Early-morning fog rolls across the shoreline, and somewhere, a heron whoops its siren’s call as you sip your first cup of coffee. There’s nothing quite as comfortable as relaxing on the front porch of a lake house as the world around you awakens, and anyone who has ever been so fortunate as to spend time in this fashion can attest to its therapeutic merits. For new Metro Atlanta residents seeking this lifestyle, there are many lakefront options to serve as a full-time residence or merely a convenient second home.

Situated along the Dog River Reservoir in Douglasville and only 16 miles from the Atlanta city limits, Clear Creek Communities’ Sanctuary Cove boasts lakefront living on minimum three-acre homesites. Homesites feature panoramic views of the lake from atop a ridge running the length of the shoreline. There are 67 homesites to choose from, including 32 lakefront lots, and buyers can purchase a site and build anytime in the future. Priced from the $600s to $2 million-plus, the homes feature lodge-style architecture with exposed wood beams, weathered pine floors and crafted stone fireplaces. Owners can enjoy beautiful sunsets from the privacy of their own docks or socialize with friends at the five-acre lakefront park. The Dog River Basin in which Sanctuary Cove resides is a 37,000-acre protected district designed to limit density and protect the Dog River watershed. If an active lifestyle is your thing, the community also features plenty of outdoor activities, including white-water rafting. “The Dog River, which runs into the reservoir, is rated by RiverFacts.com as a class III-plus white-water experience,” says Hughes. “Owners on lakefront lots can do a seven-mile run and end up right at the dock of their home.”

Harbour Point residents also enjoy a centrally located private marina with 252 wet slips.

At Cumming’s Lake Astoria, lakefront living comes with luxurious amenities like an Adirondack-style clubhouse at the water’s edge. Nestled along the banks of a 30-acre lake, and only a stone’s throw from Lake Lanier, the community of Lake Astoria offers heavily wooded homesites with move-in ready custom homes priced at $500,000 and up and built by David L. Frost Builders, Four Points Builders, Jim Hogan Homes, J.O.C. Properties, Unlimited Horizons Construction and CEI Homes. Potential home features include chef kitchens, mud rooms, media rooms, hardwood floors and full security systems. Near GA 400, Lake Astoria can easily provide the feeling of a mountain retreat every day of the work week. For luxury lake living at its finest, another North Atlanta neighborhood has cornered the market. Lake Lanier’s Harbour Point Yacht Club, a joint venture between John Wieland Homes and Hardeman Properties, is a true resort community featuring estate homes priced from $500,000 to more than $1 million. Homes at Harbour Point feature options including built-in bookcases, decorative iron caming front doors, hardwood flooring and gourmet kitchens. Once featured on the Street of Dreams tour, the community includes a Nantucket-style yacht club, The Galley Grille restaurant and a private marina with dry slips and boat rentals. There’s also a plethora of additional amenities for the whole family, including swim-ming pools, tennis courts, picnic area, fitness center, playground and walking trails.

Farther south, along the banks of beautiful Lake Oconee, sits the well-known Linger Longer Communities’ development Reynold’s Plantation featuring homes priced from approximately $400,000 to more than $5 million. Georgia’s second- largest lake, Oconee is a wildlife lover’s paradise and a fisherman’s dream, and it’s only about an hour’s drive from Atlanta. Reynolds Plantation is essentially its own small city centered around not only the lakefront lifestyle but also Lake Oconee Village, which offers residents restaurants, gift shops, antique stores, salons and more. There are also five world-class golf courses at Reynold’s Plantation—in fact, the 2008 PGA National Championship was held here in June.

Tranquility at Carters Lake® offers beautiful, distinctive homes with access to well-maintained walking and hiking trails.

In North Georgia near the small town of Ellijay, Tranquility at Carters Lake® affords high-end infrastructure such as high-speed phone and Internet in its architecturally refined homes coupled with access to a 3,200-acre lake and mountain forest. Inside the homes are options such as gourmet kitchens with stainless steel appliances, grand foyers with cathedral ceilings and stacked stone fireplaces with hardwood flooring. Roughly an hour and a half from downtown Atlanta, Tranquility at Carters Lake® is a contemporary rustic retreat from the hustle and bustle of intown life, featuring an eco-friendly design offered by locally owned A.S. Dover Communities. The community offers homesites priced from $60,000 to $200,000 and Craftsman-inspired homes from $399,000 to $750,000. Family- and earthfriendly amenities include a park along the banks of a trout stream, playground and an open-air clubhouse with a cooking area.

If a planned neighborhood isn’t your thing, Lake Arrowhead, conveniently located about an hour from Atlanta, features moderately priced homesites along the lake’s shoreline. After all, the best amenity offered by lakefront living is the lake itself.

Reynolds Plantation features miles of walking trails.

The quiet still of evening settles in over the lake as the moon’s reflection dances in its mirror surface. Flickering lightning bugs dance across the shoreline, and the steady song of bullfrogs serenades you as you sip a glass of wine. There’s nothing quite as comfortable as relaxing on the front porch of a lake house as the world around you begins to sleep, and anyone who has ever been so fortunate as to spend time in this fashion can surely attest to that.

INFORMATION

Sanctuary Cove 404-642-3412 www.sanctuarycovega.com
Lake Astoria 678-455-6040 www.lakeastoria.com
Harbour Point Yacht Club 770-536-9948 www.harbourpoint.net
Reynold’s Plantation 888-298-3119 www.reynoldsplantation.com
Tranquility at Carters Lake® 888-515-1610 www.tranquilityatcarterslake.com